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	FORUM ON BEER, HOMEBREWING, AND RELATED ISSUES
		Digest Janitor: pbabcock at hbd.org


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Contents:
  Re: Metric ? ("Greg 'groggy' Lehey")
  Metric System ("A.J deLange")
  Fingers and toes (Kevin Elsken)
  2009 Coconut Cup Results (Scott Graham)


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Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2009 16:39:19 +1100
From: "Greg 'groggy' Lehey" <grog at lemis.com>
Subject: Re: Metric ?

On Friday, 20 February 2009 at 15:52:08 -0500, steve alexander wrote:
> Kevin Elsken says ...
>> Subject: Thermal Mass
>>
>> First of all, for goodness sakes man, come over to the dark side and
>> just use the metric system!  It is just so much better and easier.

[rearranged for sake of argument]

> This is the system that was developed ... with 'time' based on the
> planet's solar day divided by 86400 ((according to the Sumerian
> number system and time units - lost culture of the same planet))

So what time units do you use?

In any case, this is incorrect.  The metric system was developed with
'time' based on decimal divisions of the solar day.  The time you talk
about is in such universal usage that it ovverrode the more rational
metric approach, which was never introduced as part of the metric
system.

> This is the system that was developed with a 'length' based on a bad
> estimate of the distance from equator to pole of some mostly
> harmless planet, ...

Well, again no.  It was originally conceived with a length based on
the length of a pendulum with fixed period.  That definition lasted
about 10 months, to be replaced by the one you mention, which lasted 8
years, to be replaced by yet another one in December 1799.

In any case, this is the definition of the unit, not the usage.  Using
the technology of 220 years ago, what more elegant unit would you
propose?

> where temperature is expressed in units based on the phase change of
> H2O at some ambient pressure

 ... directly related to its most normal usage.  Again, how does this
differ from other definitions of the day?  You omit to point out that
the definitions have long since been replaced by corresponding
definitions based on absolute physical constants.

> ... many of the units are divided by powers of - and all expressed
> in a base - determined by the typical number of flanges on the
> forepaws of a primate species.

Of course.  It was designed for the convenience of this specific
primate species.  And the choice of the original definitions of the
units has nothing to do with their usage.  It was dependent both on
the technology available at the time and the need to avoid
all-too-drastic changes.  You might just as well say that the unit of
length is 10000/254 inches.

Compare this to units which vary from one place to the other, such as
pints and quarts--one of the most important motivations for the
introduction of the metric system--and artificial and obfuscatory
units which make no sense.

Serious questions:

 - What is heavier, a pound of gold or a pound of feathers?
 - What does the constant 68.5 have to do with ppppg?
 - What does the constant 57.0 have to do with ppppg?

> Easier - yes if you count on your fingers and toes.

Even easier if you leave your toes out of it.  But it also depends on
how you count on your fingers.  I do so in binary (one hand: 0-31; 2
hands: 0-1023).

> Better -- if I laugh any harder beer comes out my nose.

Is there a way to exploit that commercially?

Greg
- --
Finger grog at Freebsd.org for PGP public key.
See complete headers for address and phone numbers.



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Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2009 08:10:25 -0500
From: "A.J deLange" <ajdel at cox.net>
Subject: Metric System

Temperature is  defined in terms of absolute 0 and the triple point of  
water neither of which is dependent on pressure. The temperature scale  
(ITS-90) is, thus, defined in terms of fundamental physical constants.

The meter is defined as the distance light travels in a vacuum in  
1/299792458 sec and thus related to a fundamental physical constant -  
the hyperfine transition of the outer electron in the cesium atom in a  
field free environment.

That brings us to the kilogram. It is the mass of a lump of metal  
called the International Prototype Kilogram (IPK) in a lab outside  
Paris. As the mass of an object is proportional to the amount of  
matter in it the mass of the IPK changes over time as it wears (though  
the IPK is handled very seldom) and adsorbs atoms from the atmosphere  
(it is cleaned periodically to reduce this). Nonetheless, the unit of  
mass is NOT derived from a basic physical constant. It is the only one  
of the SI units that is currently based on an artifact (the IPK).  As  
this is disquieting to scientists there is effort afoot to tie the  
kilogram to a fundamental physical constant (which will probably be  
Planck's constant).

So while the metric system was originally artifact based (meter  
1/10,000,000 of the distance from the pole to the equator, kilogram  
the mass of a liter of water, temperature the ice point of water at  
sea level...) it is no longer so with the exception of the kg. Today,  
despite the US's stubborn refusal to join the rest of the world and  
adopt the metric system we still benefit from it as the inch has been  
redefined to be precisely 2.54 cm (as opposed to 1/36 the distance  
from Henry's nose to his thumb), the pound exactly 0.45359237 kg and  
so on. Indeed furlongs, firkins, pottles and all such other quaint  
units of measure can be tied to the basic SI units by adoption  
(usually by some body whose authority is accepted) of conversion  
algorithms which are usually just scaling factors.

A.J.




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Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2009 09:33:09 -0500
From: Kevin Elsken <littleboybrew at verizon.net>
Subject: Fingers and toes

Steve wrote:

> Easier - yes if you count on your fingers and toes. Better -- if I  
> laugh any harder beer comes out my nose.

Well...I do count on my fingers and toes.  Which makes it better for me!




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Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2009 13:51:16 -0500 (EST)
From: Scott Graham <grahams at cs.fiu.edu>
Subject: 2009 Coconut Cup Results

The 2009 Coconut Cup was another rousing success thanks to everyone's 
support. With 244 we really appreciate everyone's help!

Special thanks go to our out of town judges--Glenn Exline (SAAZ), Nelson 
Crowle (DBG), Andy Rodusky (PBD), Joe Peters (PBD), Paul Blatz (PBD), 
Blake Balsara (PBD), and Marshall Silk (FLAB)--as well as our out of town 
stewards, the incomparable Dani Exline (SAAZ) and Squeaky O'Connor (PBD). 
Many thank to the dedicated MASH members and their beer-loving friends who 
assisted with the judging, stewarding, and logistics.

Additional thanks go to our Sponsors, the Titanic Brewery & Restaurant, 
Gordon Biersch, Briess, Wyeast, White Labs, Dogfish Head, Northwestern, 
and Sierra Nevada.

The results of the 2009 Coconut Cup are posted at 
http://www.miami-homebrew.org/coco-cup/CocoCup09_Results.html

Congratulations to the winners and to the winning club, Tampa Bay BEERS. 
We'll have the Cup engraved soon and it will return to its permanent home 
above the bar at the Titanic Brewery & Restaurant in Coral Gables.

We look forward to seeing your brews at next year's Coconut Cup!

Scott Graham            
Coconut Cup Judge Coordinator            
[1159.9, 169.3] Apparent Rennerian


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